MEASUREMENT AND COMPARISON OF FLOWABILITY PARAMETERS OF COATED COTTONSEEDS, SHELLED CORN AND SOYBEANS AT THREE MOISTURE CONTENTS

Angles of internal friction were measured for coated cottonseeds, shelled corn and soybeans at three moisture contents using the Jenike shear cell. Coated cottonseeds and shelled corn had similar (p > 0.05) angles of internal friction. Soybeans had a significantly (p < 0.05) higher angle of internal friction than shelled corn. Coated cottonseeds and soybeans had different (p < 0.05) angles of internal friction except at 8.3%/8.7% where the p-value was 0.058. Soybeans had a distinct failure when sheared, which was in contrast to the shear stress versus time plots of coated cottonseeds and shelled corn. After initial failure, coated cottonseeds and shelled corn exhibited an increasing post-yield response. The three test materials exhibited no significant (p > 0.05) cohesion and no trend (p > 0.05) in the angle of internal friction as a function of nominal dry basis moisture content between 8.3% and 12.8%.